Ways to Clean Your Shit without a Chemical Cocktail.

As part of my pledge to reduce the plastic I buy, I have made a cost-effective, healthy switch in what I use to clean my apartment. In place of my 409, Windex, Drano, etc., I am now using only baking soda, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide. I have gone from 7 plastic bottles to 1. From 26 listed chemicals to 3. From $20.64 to $5.97.

First, why the hell am I doing this and why should you care? I am on a mission to reduce my environmental impact and lead a healthier life. Getting rid of cleaning products that contain harmful chemicals and pollute the air inside my apartment are benefits in reducing my need to buy something that comes in a plastic bottle. Read more about the dangers of household cleaning products here and here.

This is what used to happen when I cleaned my sink. I'd spray 409, which I'd immediately inhale and absorb through my skin. It'd react with the Windex hanging in the air that I'd just sprayed on my mirror. I'd inhale that. These chemicals would get sucked up by my air-conditioner and circulate throughout my apartment. As The Story of Stuff points out, only a handful of commercial chemicals have ever been tested for adverse effects, and nearly none of them have been tested to see what happens when they're mixed with other chemicals. So, why wouldn't I want to reduce the number of chemicals in my home?

I would also really like to emphasize the cost-effectiveness of making the change. One criticism of the environmentalist movement is that it is something in which only the privileged can participate. To some extent, I agree, sadly--weaning yourself off of plastic water bottles or Ziploc bags requires that you spend money for alternatives. Not everyone can afford a stainless steel bottle or spend time baking their own bread. But, changing your cleaning products is something that is easy and will only save you money. The only extra prep time is washing out old cleaning bottles and filling them with vinegar or hydrogen peroxide.

Below are the details of my old & new cleaning routines:
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Here is what I used to use:
1. 409 Antibacterial All-Purpose Cleaner for sinks/surfaces. $3.29. Ingredients listed: 3
2. Windex for mirrors/windows. $2.99. Ingredients listed: 3
3. Greenworks Toilet Bowl Cleaner. $2.99. Ingredients listed: 2
4. Comet Disinfectant Powder for the shower. $1.79. Ingredients listed: 8
5. Greenworks Dilutable Cleaner for kitchen/bathroom floor. $2.99. Ingredients listed: 3
6. Drano Max Gel to unplug the shower drain. $7.69. Ingredients listed: 4
7. Clorox Bleach occasionally when the toilet overflows, etc. $2.19. Ingredients listed: 3
*water is excluded from ingredient count

Those are a lot of freaking products. Cost? $20.64. Plastic bottles? 7. Chemicals? Who knows, as I am skeptical that they listed all ingredients (ingredient info came from here.), but there 26 from my count, each of them with their own WARNING labels. Lovely.

After some research, I decided to replace those cleaners with the following:
1. Baking Soda. $2.69/4 lbs. Ingredients listed: 1
2. Vinegar $1.39/1 quart. Ingredients listed: 1
3. Hydrogen Peroxide. $1.89/1 quart. Ingredients listed: 1
*water is excluded from ingredient count

Total cost: $5.97 (and these are the bulk prices!) Plastic bottles: 1. Chemicals: 3. Two of which you can eat, and the other you put on your cuts. (Other people add more products, like washing soda or borax or tea tree oil, but I'm lazy.)

My new cleaning routine is as follows:
-To clean sinks/surfaces/mirrors/windows, rinse out Windex bottle and fill it with half water & half vinegar. Use as normal. If you are getting streaks on your mirrors, use newspaper or an old shirt instead of paper towels.

-To clean the toilet, put full-strength vinegar in it and let it sit for a little. Sprinkle baking soda and then scrub. Put full-strength vinegar in old 409 bottle and spray the outside of toilet.

-To clean the shower, wet the surfaces with water or diluted vinegar and sprinkle with baking soda. Scrub. Wash off.

-To clean the floors, use a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water. Use as normal.

-To unplug the drain, come to terms with your own humanity and pull out the glob of hair. Ew. Now pour in some baking soda, followed by full-strength vinegar. Close the drain so the bubbling action actually stays in the drain. Let it sit for 10/15/20 minutes, depending on how bad it is. Rinse with really hot water (boiling water works best). Viola.

-To *really* disinfect or clean up grossness, do not use bleach. Instead, spray gross area with full-strength vinegar. Then, spray it with hydrogen peroxide. This combination kills e-coli, salmonella, and lots of other bacteria (but, DO NOT mix them together in one spray bottle, as this gives you peracetic acid, which can be harmful. It is also not as effective).
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So, tell me why I should buy commercial cleaners instead of making my own with these cheap, effective, safe, and widely available products?

Besides being healthier, using less plastic bottles and saving money, I'm saving other things, too. Think of how many less chemicals I'll be pouring down the drain and into the water supply, which takes time and money (and more chemicals) to clean. I'll be saving gas used to ship these products across the country. I'll be saving energy used to create the cleaners in the first place. And finally, I will be taking a stand against needless waste.

We have let advertising and our consumer culture convince us that we "need" certain products in order to live. This is simply not true. It is time to unplug ourselves from the Lots Of Stuff=Happiness mentality and think critically about what we buy and use. Please join me.